Welsh international Ched Evans netted the winner after a sublime pass from Andy Reid which allowed Evans to finish on the angle when one on one with de Vries in the City net.
United await Gary Speed’s successor, but for the time being coach John Carver is in temporary charge and is assisted by Sam Ellis and injured defender Chris Morgan.
Carver said: "I'm delighted for the boys. They deserved that. It's not been the easiest week with the manager going but they've responded in exactly the right fashion, exactly the way that everyone would want.
"I want to say thank you to Gary because he rang me this morning and said he believed in this team and thank you to the players because they stuck completely to the game plan absolutely to the letter.
“And also thank you to the fans because I know what it's like being a supporter sat in the stands when your team had been struggling. But I think they stuck with us and, as the game developed, started to see what we were trying to do."